The iPhone 18 punch hole display was apparently a translation error, here’s what Apple is actually doing

For months, reports have been circulating about Apple removing the Dynamic Island from the iPhone 18, and replacing it with a punch hole instead. While parts of those reports are true — Face ID sensors are moving below the display — the claims about a punch hole on the top left of the phone, apparently, are not.

A translation error

According to a new report (translated source) from an industry insider, there won’t be a punch hole on the top left of the iPhone 18 display. In fact, initial reports were about an infrared sensor being placed there instead, but global reports mistook that to be a camera and the news spread like wildfire.

On the contrary, the very earliest reports about the iPhone 18 are, apparently, much more accurate. Yes, the Face ID sensors are being moved below the display, but the Dynamic Island is here to stay, though perhaps not as you might be used to.

Dynamic Island will stay on iPhone 18

It seems like the Dynamic Island is here to stay for the iPhone 18. The base model might remain unchanged, while the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro will get the exciting new changes.

So, what will actually happen? Of course, it’s still way too early to be completely certain, but Dynamic Island will be made smaller, not gotten rid of entirely. As the Face ID sensors won’t be housed there anymore, at least that’s the running theory right now, there won’t be a need for a Dynamic Island as large as the one found on the iPhone 17 and prior.

All heading towards the iPhone 20 Pro

Of course, as reported many times by reliable sources like Apple insider Mark Gurman, this change to the iPhone 18 is in preparation for the iPhone 20 Pro. That will be a new Pro model that Apple will allegedly announce next year for the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, skipping the iPhone 19.

The iPhone 20 Pro will have a display free of any notches, punch holes, or other cutouts, and the screen will meld into the chassis on all four sides. If everything stays on schedule, and I really hope that it does, then the iPhone 20 Pro is the Apple flagship to really look forward to.

And, personally, I’m glad that Dynamic Island might stick around for another generation. It is such a unique approach to the cutout trend, and it would have been a shame to see the iPhone resemble any other Android phone from the front.